National School Choice Week gives information on K-12 education options

Parents need to know in Indiana, and across the country, that they do have options when it comes to their child's education, said Andrew Campanella, and these options give parents the freedom to choose the best educational environment for their child's K-12 education.

With a goal to raise public awareness for the need of greater K-12 options, around 5,500 events across all 50 states mark the fourth annual National School Choice Week from Jan. 26 to Feb. 1. This is the largest-ever series of education-related events, according to organizers. As of Friday morning, there were 165 confirmed events across Indiana, with 10 of those planned in Evansville.

The president of National School Choice Week, Campanella said the need for more options is an issue that has broad implications regarding public policy in Indiana and across the country. He said school choice creates healthy competition between schools of all different sectors.

"They're all working to educate kids at the highest levels because they're competing with each other for students and for the attention of parents. So it impacts public policy in that it transforms education to really be about the needs of the student and not about the needs of the systems ... It's improving the quality of schools across the board, it's giving parents individual choices and it's refocusing legislators on making sure that when they look at education policy, they look at what's best for students."

Events for National School Choice Week are independently-planned and can include rallies, round-table discussions, school fairs, parent information sessions and movie screenings, which are funded by schools, organizations, individuals and coalitions.

Organizers expect topics of discussion to include open enrollment policies in traditional public schools, public charter and magnet schools, private school choice programs, online learning and home schooling.

In its third year, Indiana's voucher program saw the largest applicant pool in state history with more than double the number of students applying for the program that allows students to attend a private school on state dollar. More than 20,000 students submitted applications for the 2013-14 school year compared to nearly 4,000 students in its first school year.

However, this year the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. saw a return rate of 99.91 percent, according to Superintendent David Smith.

Campanella advises when choosing a school for your child, take all options into consideration. He also urged to not wait until spring or summer to research the options because available spots may already be full.

"Remember it is an intensely personal decision that you are making," he said. "And it's not something that should be driven by fads or trends, but instead by what is right for your family."

National School Choice Week began in 2011 as an independent, grassroots-led effort that has grown from 150 events four years ago to 5,500 events this year.